


Stranger in a Strange Land

by Pandoras_Fox



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety, Free Marches (Dragon Age), Mage-Templar War (Dragon Age), Mages, OCs - Freeform, Par Vollen (Dragon Age), Post-DA2, Qunandar (Dragon Age), Qunari, Tal-Vashoth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25114381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandoras_Fox/pseuds/Pandoras_Fox
Summary: Asa considered himself a loyal follower of the Qun, but when he realizes a dark secret of his can be kept hidden no longer, he leaves behind all he has ever known to escape to the south. Now, armed with nothing but an uncontrollable power, a rag-tag group of on-the-run apostates, and a mysterious necklace, Asa must push forward through this strange new world, while outrunning the past he left behind.





	Stranger in a Strange Land

Dreams were one of the strangest things in life

Asa had heard of them from others in his ranks. They had always described them as blurry, unclear, like looking in a broken, fogged mirror. Visions that were there for just a second, and then gone with barely a trace.He wished his dreams were like that like that too. But Asa’s dreams were clear as day. A field stood before him, with tall, yellow grass spanning in every direction as far as he could see. He began to walk forward, the sight unfamiliar to him. 

_ “Where am I?” _

No matter how far he walked, no sign of life appeared on any horizon, and the sky, an orange sunset with gently rolling gray clouds casting long shadows over the field, remained stagnant. Asa stopped, exhaustion beginning to take hold of him. The ground itself felt as if it was dragging him down. As he stopped, he took notice of a peculiar, coppery smell in the air. It had been faint at first, but had gradually grown stronger as he travelled on. Asa crouched down, sticking a finger into the fresh mud. Pulling his hand away, he let the slick earth slip of his finger, leaving behind a red, wet residue. It only took Asa only a moment to figure out what it was.

_ Blood. _

His heart began to race, the scent becoming stronger with every breath he took. A glint out of the corner of his eye and broke his trance. Half-buried in the mud laid a shield, and lying next to that laid a skeleton, broken, twisted and trampled. With a start, Asa stood up, the scent of blood making his head spin. The horrors the grass concealed became clear: This was not a field, but a battleground, no, a  _ slaughter _ stretching for miles in every direction. Asa wanted to scream, but no sound left his throat. He just stood paralyzed, hoping with every ounce of his being just to escape this nightmare. And as almost by command, the sky began to grow a dark red. Asa looked upward, expecting to see an impending nightfall, but instead saw clouds gathering, foreboding an impending storm. Behind him, a soft, warm glow began to fill the horizon. Asa peered toward it.  _ Is that the sunset? No, I wouldn't be able to see it behind the clouds. Is it...coming closer? It almost smells a bit like- _ ”. Asa stood up straight as a wave of heat hit him. 

“ _ Fire. “ _

_ “Run. Run run runrun runrunurunrunrun- _ ” 

Asa took off sprinting through the battlefield, the firestorm gaining on his heels. He tried to outrun it, but he stumbled on the weapons and corpses littering the ground, and the blood-soaked mud drew him down with every step. Just as he started gaining speed, he tripped on a shield, landing face-first in the gore beneath him. He surfaced, the smell making it nearly impossible to breath. He tried to get up, only to realize he had sunk waist-deep into the mud. His mind and eyes filled with terror, he desperately clawed at the earth around him, desperately trying to find a handhold. Suddenly, he managed to find a grip on a piece of bone sticking out from the mud. Pulling himself up, he stole a glance from behind. A blast of unbearable heat hit him, as the firestorm came down upon-

The loud THWAP of a thick, leather book hitting the desk in front of him awoke Asa from his dream. He shot up, gasping for air.  _ “It's ok” _ , he thought to himself,  _ “It's just a dream. It's always just a dream.” _ He looked up at the face of an old, qunari woman with coal colored skin and a hooked nose. “Hmmmmm, forgive me, I must have been misinformed in my teachings. I did not realize one of the duties of a medic was sleeping on the job!” 

Asa stumbled out of his chair, gathering up a few boxes of unsorted herbs and shaking off the last remnants of his dreams. “F-forgive me, Doctor. I'll return to my duties at once.” 

“Hrmf, you better! Do you think your superiors will tolerate this type of behavior when you're working in the field? Why they assigned this useless twig to me, I’ll never understand.”

Asa’s face burned hot with shame, hands still clutching the containers of herbs, and his instructor still staring him down. 

“Well, what are you waiting for, a set of lashings? GET BACK TO WORK!”

Asa scrambled with the boxes, hurrying over to the shelves where herbs were sorted. His instructor gave a curt nod, and then turned swiftly (well, as swiftly as a woman her age could) and headed through a curtain into the infirmary, he gnarled wooden cane clacking on the floor.

Asa faded into the monotonous work of herb sorting. Elfroot, spindleweed,embrium... The work was simple, yet important. He knew well he needed the practice, as often as he’d be doing this often once he began working out in the field. He gazed into the long mirror, propped up against a wall next to some surgical gear. It wasn't much of a surprise he had been pegged for medical work. While he was quite tall for his age, it did not compensate for his thin, lanky build, his upward -pointing horns only making him stick out in a crowd more. However, he wasn't without his skills. While he couldn't swing a sword or aim a bow to save his life, his caretakers were quick to notice his precise touch and ability to comfort others. So while the rest of his class was sent off to train in the barracks, he was shipped off to the infirmary to be taught under the watchful eye of the chief doctor (or The Crow, as his friends had….  _ affectionately _ nicknamed her). 

It wasn't like he didn't enjoy the work. While it had taken him it awhile to get used to the pungent scent of herbs and the….bloodier parts of the job, it had grown on him. The warmth of his small room, the cleanliness of the infirmary, and the ways he could help others. He even found some comfort in the scoldings of the Doctor. He finished the last box of herbs, taking a step back to admire his work, rows and rows of herbs, neatly organized on the wall in front of him.  _ “Huh,” _ he thought  _ “Usually I don’t finish until…” _ Asa stopped dead in the tracks of his thoughts. 

It was sunhigh. 

Combat training  _ started _ at sunhigh. 

He was-

“I'm late!” Asa darted out of the storage room, nearly slamming into the doctor, who was overseeing two female doctors bringing in an old man. He rushed out an apology. “Sorry, sorry! I'm in a hurry! I’ll be back soon!”

The doctor scoffed and shouted after Asa as he rushed out the door of the clinic and into the bright sunlight “About time you realized you were late!” 

Asa ducked through the streets of Qunandar, past delivery workers carrying goods and materials from one half of the city to the other, past Tamassrans leading children from their classes, and past guards both on and off duty. He had heard of the societal structure of the Qun being described as a living being, and it wasn't hard to see why. The delivery workers for example were like red blood cells, carrying nutrients and oxygen to all of the body's major organs, and the guards like white blood cells, uprooting and killing any virus before it could spread. All of these systems working together in harmony, along with the lush flora of the island, would make for a beautiful scene to just sit and watch in quiet contemplation….if he wasn't running so late.

Thoroughly out of breath, Asa arrived at the training arena, where his classmates were already lined around the edge of the ring listening to their instructor, an older Karasten who had since retired from combat to train the youth. Asa attempted to sneak through the back of the crowd, hoping he could blend in seamlessly.

“Well, look who decided to finally show up.”

All the eyes of his classmates turned toward Asa at the Karasten's remark. Slowly Asa stood up, a nervous smile on his face. He was never particularly good at sneaking, and being the tallest kid in his class did not help matters. 

The Karasten scowled at him. “If you're so insistent on making an entrance, then you can go up first.” He gestured to the ring before them, a wooden sword and shield lying at each end.  _ Sparing. _ Asa walked up toward the ring with the other unfortunate classmate who had been picked out of the crowd. Asa picked up the sword and shield, mentally creating a plan of action, which at the moment was to just play on the defensive until the instructor got bored and pulled them out. Asa and his sparring partner began to circle the ring, sizing each other up and adjusting their weapons in their hands. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a sword, each of them awaiting their instructor's signal. The instructor raised their hand slowly up into the air, waited for a moment, and then, closing their fist, shouted “BEGIN!”

Asa’s opponent lunged. Asa raised his shield quickly blocking the blow from his sword. He leapt from side to side around the ring, avoiding his opponents' strikes, blocking with his shield whenever he could. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on Asa’s brow. He was already out of breath from running to class, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up this pace. Just as he was considering letting his opponent win just to get out of the fight, his opponent gave a hard swing with his sword, which Asa parried, throwing his opponent's arms back, giving a clear opening. At that moment, Asa had a choice. He could take the opportunity to gain some distance, adjust his grip, fix his stance, and go back to on the defensive. Or he could take a chance.

And that chance he took.

Asa swung his sword, getting in a solid hit on his opponent's side. Suddenly it was his opponent on the defensive. Asa got in another hit. And then another. He had broken his rhythm, his opponent now scrambling back, more focused on regaining his stance than striking back. Asa couldn't believe it, he was winning! All of the fear, the uncertainty, and exhaustion that had plagued him before the fight had vanished, leaving only an exhilarating warmth in his chest. Forget a match in the ring! He felt as if he could take on armies, no, take on a  _ dragon _ and come away victorious. But just as quickly as it had come, his exhilaration was replaced with terror as a familiar feeling began to creep down his arms and into his hands, filling them with a burning heat, clawing to escape.

_ No. no no nononono not here, not now, not- _

Asa recoiled, desperately trying to rein in the sensation rushing through him. He stumbled, no longer focused on the fight…..and fell face forward into his opponent's shield. It collided with his jaw, and Asa fell hard onto the ground. He rolled onto his back, the world spinning, the sound of his classmates wincing (coupled with a few snickers) entering his ears. He focused his eyes, seeing his opponent standing over him. Judging by the look on his face, the hit had not been intentional. 

The instructor groaned. “That's enough! You-” The instructor pointed at Asa’s opponent- “Back of the line! And you-” The instructor pointed at Asa- “On the bench!” 

Asa stood up, rubbing his jaw, and walked toward the benches near the back of the arena grounds, hoping his classmates would blame the redness of his cheeks on the hit he had just taken to the face. He sat down, trying his best to conceal his shame. Under the Qun, everyone was supposed to strive for perfection, yet no matter he tried, there were some things he couldn’t seem to master, and deep down, he knew that he would never be able to.

“In your defense, most Qunari I know would be out cold after a blow like that.”

Asa looked up to see a muscular Qunari with golden skin, silvery eyes, and downward-spiraling horns looking down at him. “Hey Val.” Asa replied, trying to hide the exhaustion in his voice. Fights like this always made him tired.

Val sat down next to him. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. You did alright today!”

“Says you, you’re great at fighting! It took me weeks until I could even hold the sword right.”

“Granted, you are training to be a doctor, not a soldier. No one really expects you to be the best at this, or else you’d be training in the Anaatam with the rest of us.”

“Well, technically I’m training to be a field medic, which is a part of the Anaatam. I'll be close to combat, so I have to learn at least some self-defense.”

“If it helps, maybe try thinking of the sword as a really big scalpel.”

Asa laughed. Val was his best friend, despite being considered opposites in both nature and appearance. Even though they were assigned to fulfill different roles, they still managed to find the time to spend time with one another. Val was his best friend, and he couldn't imagine a day without him.

Val turned to look at him. “One thing I don’t really get is how, whenever you’re in a fight, you always pull back just when you gain the upper hand. Why?”

Asa paused for a moment, an ounce of anxiety creeping into his voice. “Well, it just..I mean, I’m a medic. Guess I’m not really too fond of the idea of hurting someone.”

‘Well-”

The sound of the instructor's voice summoning Val to the ring interrupted the conversation, which Asa silently thanked. Val stood up, gave a quick stretch, and picked up his training equipment. He began to trot off toward the ring, but stopped to turn around for a second.

“Ill win the fight..”

“And I’ll patch you up after!” Said Asa, completing the statement as Val strode off toward the rings, raising his sword to the cheers of his peers. 

……….

……….

……….

Sunset began to fall over the city of Quander, an orange sky with gently rolling grey clouds casting long shadows down the streets. Asa and Val walked with a group of their friends back toward the sleeping quarters, laughing and telling stories about their day. Well, more accurately they were Val’s friends. Asa was never the most sociable person, but Val always invited him to tag along, and anyone who said otherwise usually ended up with a broken nose. Granted, it wasn't like they despised him. He could get things off high shelves and get them extra horn balm whenever they wanted.

Asa’s quiet trance was broken by one of his classmates nudging him in the side.

“Look who's out perching on the steps.”

Asa looked over to the direction his classmate was pointing. Down the path toward the clinic stood Asa’s teacher, the old woman standing on the steps staring toward Asa and his group. He stopped and gave a nervous gulp. He wasn't late, was he? Asa cursed himself for taking extra time in the bath house with his friends.

Asa began to peel off from the rest of the group. “I should really be going. I-in case there's a problem at the clinic.”

His classmates gave him a polite sendoff, one of them jeering, “Someone’s in trouble!” Val punched them in the arm, and then waved goodbye to Asa. “See you tomorrow!”

Asa gave one last wave and then set off down the path toward the clinic, where his mentor had already gone inside. Asa ducked through the door and entered the cool building. It was mostly empty, most of the other doctors had returned to their chambers, and only one of the overnight beds was currently taken by the elderly man Asa had seen being brought in earlier. His breathing sounded ragged. 

“Is he..?”

The Doctor sighed. “Illness in the lungs. He’s been dealing with this for a while, the only reason they've had me keep him alive so long is because of his work. A good metalworker, he is. Or soon to be was. At this point, all we can do is ease him out, dull his suffering.”

Asa sighed, looking over to the old man. It wasn't common to see many of the elderly living under the Qun. After a certain point, a person's productivity would drop with their age, and they would not be able to produce more than it cost to keep them alive. So for a man this old to still be alive, his work must have been…

Asa turned back toward his mentor. “Is there anything I could do to help?”

“There is no point. Long term treatment is the job of a doctor, not a field medic.”

“I know, but, it wouldn't hurt to learn, just I case I-”

“There is still much for you to learn, and not the time for you to learn what you do not need.” Asa’s mentor gestured to a report sitting on a table, the stamp on the bottom indicating it was from the Anaatam. He picked up the paper, a relativity short statement altogether, and read it over. And then read it again. And again, trying to make sense of the words.

“S-six weeks!? B-b-but it’s supposed to be nearly a year until I officially complete my training! This has to be some kind of mistake!”

“ This is no mistake.” The doctor sighed. “Great change is coming. They need more medics in the field, which means accelerating YOUR training.” The old woman turned back towards the old man. “We’ll start your new lessons. It won’t be easy to fit everything in with your new combat lessons, but hopefully I’ve molded that feeble mind of yours into something that can handle a bit of pressure.”

The room around Asa felt as if it was spinning. Six weeks, then he would be out on the field? Away from the safety of the clinic, from the safety of his room. He’d be forced to share close quarters with the rest of the Anaatam. If something went wrong, if he lost control…. Everything was falling apart. The all-familiar heat began to build in his chest and spread down into his arms. He tried his best to rein it in, but it was moving too fast, too out of control.

“I-I need to go up to my room to...process all this.” Asa began to hurry up the stairs near the back of the clinic and toward his clinic, barely hearing the doctor calling after him to be up early . He bowled into his room, trying his best not to slam the door closed behind. He stood with his back against the door, taking in shaky breaths. He slid down into a ball on the floor, and tentatively stretched out in hand in front of him, letting the heat inside out him be released. Within his hand, a small ball of flame formed. It lit up the small, windowless room, sending dancing shadows against the wall. A part of him scratched and clawed from inside, wanting to make the flame bigger and brighter, but Asa suppressed like he had done countless times before. The flame flicked and died within his and, and Asa curled up with his head on his knees, shaking.

This secret, this... _ power _ , he had kept secret for so long. He knew that everyday that he walked free with a crime against the Qun, but he had seen what was done with mages, and he…..Asa shuddered at the thought. He was the only one who knew now, but after he was shipped out….he wouldn't have the safety of the clinic, the privacy of his room, the comforts of training to keep him safe. And as much as he wanted to stay, to serve the Qun loyally, Asa knew there was only one option:

He had to escape.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I've had these characters floating around for awhile, and I've been writing this on-and-off while working through quarantine. Not sure when I can get the next chapter out, but I'll try to get this done!


End file.
